Chapter 237 - Episode 31. Big Brother (2)
Chapter 237: Episode 31. Big Brother (2)
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Jaehwan remembered the final battle from a year ago.
That day, after the World Force of 「Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood」 vanished and Maiad had exhausted their strength, Maiad admitted defeat.
Every part of 「Deus Ex Machina」 except its cockpit had been destroyed. It let out a warped metallic groan. Maiad lay slumped inside the cockpit, looking up at the sky.
Jaehwan spoke.
“Samyeong Garam, a Lord, warned me to be careful of you. He said you wouldn't sit still if you learned I'd opened Creation.”
Throughout the battle with Maiad, Jaehwan had thought about it. If he had come to the 《Abyss》 just a little sooner, if they could have met a few hundred years earlier, perhaps today's battle would never have happened. Maiad would not have needed to betray their ideals or despair over despair itself.
But that was a story that had never happened.
“Samyeong Garam... Right. There was a Lord by that name.”
Maiad remembered the name as well. Before giving up on 《Big Brother》, Maiad had surely met a Lord with that name.
A Lord who doubted the System despite being an Adapter.
How many different kinds of souls were there in this world?
Feeling the strength drain from their entire body, Maiad quietly looked up at the sky. Beyond the clearing red clouds of Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood lay Jaehwan's night sky.
Maiad reached toward it.
That sky they had wanted to touch so desperately, yet could never climb.
A massive eye now occupied the place where their ideals had once been. It was the ‘eye’ Jaehwan had always watched.
“127.”
“What?”
“The number of times I challenged that sky.”
Jaehwan could vaguely sense the depth of despair contained in that number.
Maiad had not given up on the sky for a long time. They had struggled and struggled to reach it, doing everything they possibly could.
But it had not worked. Existence could not defeat the System.
Maiad looked at Jaehwan. Their gaze held complicated emotions. Pity and sympathy, perhaps admiration and longing. Countless years drifted faintly across the surface of their eyes.
“Once every thousand days, the ‘star’ blinks. In your case, it is an ‘eye,’ so that would be when its eyelid closes. It is only a brief moment, but it should be enough time to climb that sky.”
Jaehwan realized what Maiad was saying.
Maiad continued speaking for a long time, and Jaehwan focused so he would not miss a single word.
“There is only one thing I can tell you. Beware of ‘time.’ Time is existence's greatest enemy.”
No one knew exactly what Maiad had been thinking in their final moments, after challenging 《Big Brother》 alone for thousands of years.
“But time like this is not so bad.”
Those were Maiad's final words before they closed their eyes.
Pure silver light covered the battlefield like winter snow.
* * *
A bleak winter wind blew.
Winter in the Abyss had begun a year ago.
According to the gods who used prophecy-type Settings, this winter was a temporary weather anomaly caused by excessive clashes of World Force.
“That ‘temporary’ weather has lasted a whole year already. Even Lady Minerva, the God of Fate, says she cannot predict this anomaly at all.”
Yoonhwan spoke as he watched the heavy snow falling over the 〈Muspelheim〉 region at the center of the Third Site.
Perhaps because of the boiling heat rising from the ground, the snow melted the instant it fell and seeped into the earth.
Yoonhwan watched the melting snow for a while before speaking again.
“Seoyul still hasn't recovered.”
“...”
“If you'd used Cognitive Dissonance, things might have been different...”
“I can't make everyone my Followers.”
Yoonhwan gave a bitter smile at that cold answer.
“Right. People have to learn how to stand on their own. I know that. But...”
“...”
“You know not everyone is like you.”
Jaehwan said nothing. He only looked up at the sky.
That alone was enough of an answer.
Yoonhwan quietly watched him, then turned around. Runald and Sirwen were looking their way. Seeing the expressions on their faces, Yoonhwan could guess what expression he himself was making.
Their gazes met, and Yoonhwan finally realized that he had to say it.
“Jaehwan. Are you going alone again?”
Jaehwan did not answer. He was deliberately refusing to answer.
Yoonhwan wondered if Jaehwan had changed like this because of him.
Back when they were in the 《Tower of Nightmares》, Jaehwan had not been like this. He had been brighter than he was now and had not hesitated to discuss things with his Allies.
But after people used the Stone of Regression, and the remaining Allies gradually dwindled one by one, Jaehwan had spoken less and less.
That had happened long ago.
Yoonhwan did not know what kind of life Jaehwan had lived after Yoonhwan fell from the Ninety-Eighth Floor. He could not understand even a fragment of the pain Jaehwan had endured.
Still, there was one thing even Yoonhwan knew.
Even if someone's personality changed, even if the way they spoke changed, some things did not.
For example, the essence of the man named Jaehwan.
“You're leaving today, aren't you?”
Without looking away, Jaehwan nodded.
The massive eye in the sky. Its eyelid was nearly closed now.
The eyelid lowered as if the eye were falling into a heavy sleep.
The deep shadow cast across the sky swayed with the movement of that eyelid.
Yoonhwan smiled bitterly.
“I've always followed in your footsteps. I thought that if I kept chasing you like that, someday I would be able to stand beside you.”
Jaehwan turned and looked at Yoonhwan.
Avoiding that gaze, Yoonhwan muttered, “I know. There are places I can't go, even if I want to. All I can do is cheer you on.”
“That is enough.”
“I know. But not everyone will think like I do.”
Jaehwan's eyebrow twitched, as if asking what he meant.
Yoonhwan continued.
“People are afraid. Of what you're trying to do.”
“They do not know what I am trying to do.”
“They're afraid because they don't know. The unknown is what people fear most.”
Yoonhwan's eyes trembled faintly.
“But they care about you too. They only show it differently. So don't resent them too much.”
The moment Yoonhwan finished speaking, a group of souls appeared beyond the horizon.
They were members of the Committee, led by Yu Seolha. Familiar souls stood among them, including Cheongheo and Karlton at the front. Minerva, the God of Fate. Martis, the God of Tomorrow. Manri Shintong and people from the Black Shop. Farther back stood Shiyu, the God of Aging, and the God of the Deep Sea Russell. A few steps away, Leader Eoduksi and Ethan Cart, the King of Crows, watched from a distance.
World Force filled the plains.
Sensing the strange mood around them, Yoonhwan spoke.
“They didn't come to say goodbye.”
In an instant, the Committee closed the distance. They spread out and quickly surrounded Jaehwan. An unsettling tension hung in the air, as though something could break out at any moment.
Yu Seolha spoke.
“Jaehwan, you can't go.”
“...”
The next moment, Yu Seolha did not know what had happened.
She remembered darkness gathering in the sky and the ground shifting beneath her feet. But she did not know why every member of the Committee, including herself, was kneeling on the ground.
No, perhaps saying she did not know was wrong.
Yu Seolha knew.
She knew stopping Jaehwan was impossible.
And she had known this day would come eventually.
Just now, Jaehwan had shown them that even if the whole 《Abyss》 came at him, they could not stop him now.
Still, she could not give up.
“You're going to meet 《Big Brother》, aren't you?”
Yu Seolha staggered to her feet.
“Yes.”
At Jaehwan's answer, some faces darkened, while others filled with sorrow. They were all people who had believed in Jaehwan, followed him, and climbed all the way here with him.
Jaehwan waved his hand and dismissed his Unique World. His Companions had been struggling under its pressure.
Once the air around them returned to normal, Yu Seolha caught her breath and spoke.
“You don't even know whether 《Big Brother》 truly exists. What you're trying to do may be completely pointless.”
“《Big Brother》 exists. You know that too.”
“Even if it does!”
Standing firmly in place, her voice sounded almost like a scream.
“When Maiad tried to create a new 《System》, it did not reveal itself. Even when all the Great Lords died, it did not appear!”
“That is true.”
“Are you even listening to me? Do you understand what that means?”
“...”
“Even if 《Big Brother》 exists, it does not care about this world at all.”
Yu Seolha had a point.
If 《Big Brother》 truly cared about what happened in the 《Abyss》, it would never have stood by and watched Maiad or Jaehwan. There was no god in the 《Abyss》 who would remain still while their Vicegerent died.
Yet 《Big Brother》 had watched all of it without intervening.
“We opened a new world. The 《Abyss》 has now become stronger than even the 《Great Realm》.”
Yu Seolha shouted as she looked around at her Companions.
“The 《Abyss》 no longer oppresses existence! Gods do not compete over World Force anymore. Do you know what that means? It means we can finally create a world where all existence can peacefully coexist. We do not need to defeat 《Big Brother》...”
Yu Seolha kept speaking.
She said hope could be found here, too. That Jaehwan's path was not the only right path. That there were still paths they had not found.
And then...
Yu Seolha's voice gradually grew quieter.
People looked at her with sympathy.
She knew, and so did they all. No matter what anyone here said, they could not stand proudly before that unwavering man.
After some time, Jaehwan finally spoke.
“Cultivation will continue.”
It sounded as though he were saying that humans would continue eating meals.
At his calm, flat tone, a few people lowered their eyes.
“The people of the 「Peripheral Worlds」 will pass through the Tower of Nightmares and come to the 《Tree of Illusion》. If they are fortunate, they will come to the 《Abyss》, but most will go to the 《Great Realm》. And those who die there will be imprisoned in 《Chaos》.”
“But...!”
“We cannot stop all of that.”
Yu Seolha could not immediately answer. Her mouth only opened and closed soundlessly.
“No matter how large the Committee becomes or how strong the 《Abyss》 grows, we cannot prevent that tragedy. The 《Abyss》 cannot stop ‘cultivation.’ If ‘cultivation’ disappears, the 《Abyss》 will eventually be destroyed as well.”
He was right.
No matter how powerful the 《Abyss》 became, no matter how much the Committee changed its policies, it could not solve the root of the problem. Yu Seolha knew that too.
“I can change it.”
As if he had read her thoughts, Jaehwan's words finally made Yu Seolha explode with frustration.
“That is something only you can say! You...”
Yu Seolha could not bring herself to say the rest.
You are the one trying to destroy this world.
You are the one trying to break this world without caring about anything else.
Words she could not say.
Even so, she realized that Jaehwan had heard them. Through her expression, her actions, and countless languages other than words, Jaehwan heard what she was saying. That was why the things she had not said were conveyed to him more clearly than any words she could have spoken.
Jaehwan silently looked at those words, endured them, and accepted them.
“I will go alone.”
Before that noble yet arrogant attitude, Yu Seolha felt ashamed.
Even so, she had to be cowardly. She had to be afraid. The lives of every soul, including her own, rested on her shoulders.
Suppose 《Big Brother》 truly existed, and Jaehwan went to meet it. That much was fine.
The problem was what came next.
What if Jaehwan provoked 《Big Brother》? What if an enraged 《Big Brother》 killed Jaehwan and descended to destroy the 《Abyss》?
Yu Seolha shook her head.
No. Perhaps that was not what she truly feared.
What she was really afraid of was...
“Seolha, let him go.”
It was Cheongheo's voice.
“If you want to hold him back, you will have to deal with me first.”
Cheongheo, who had stood with the Committee, stepped forward and stood with his back to Jaehwan.
Karlton came forward next.
“I feel the same.”
They were not the only ones.
Runald, Yoonhwan, and even Sirwen, the dream demon, all stood with their backs to Jaehwan and faced the Committee.
Yu Seolha staggered as strength left her body.
“I know what you are thinking. But now is the time to let him go.”
Without turning toward Jaehwan, Cheongheo spoke.
“Go, brat. Go and do whatever you want. Kill 《Big Brother》, destroy the 《System》, do whatever you want for once.”
“...”
“I am satisfied just to have come this far. I already owe much of my life to you. I could come this far because you were there.”
The Allies nodded.
They all had different thoughts and values, but it was something they all agreed on.
The Leader, who neither stopped Jaehwan nor defended him, spoke.
“The 《Abyss》 will remember you.”
Martis quietly sighed, while Minerva smiled in a way no one could read.
Manri Shintong took a dumpling from his pocket and pressed it into Jaehwan's hand.
“I do not care what happens to something like 《Big Brother》. Please come back and eat my dumplings again.”
A few people could not bear to watch and closed their eyes.
Jaehwan nodded silently.
No one said anything more, but everyone felt the depth of that silence.
Soon, complete darkness swept over the sky.
The massive eye in Jaehwan's world was closing.
In the blind spot created by the god's vanished gaze, Jaehwan stabbed toward the sky.
The darkness of the Abyss split apart, creating an enormous crack. Ominous energy flowed from the fissure, which looked like a black mouth.
It was unlike the boundary of the Abyss the Driver of 〈Metaverse〉 had broken through long ago, but Jaehwan knew it was an entrance that led upward.
White smoke soon flowed from the mouth, and translucent stairs appeared, climbing toward the sky.
A spiraling staircase leading to the end of the heavens.
Without waiting, Jaehwan stepped onto the stairs.
One step, then two.
Those standing with their backs to Jaehwan could not bring themselves to turn around. They only listened to the sound of his footsteps moving farther away.
The sound quickly faded.
At last, a few people who had been waiting turned around.
Jaehwan had already climbed halfway into the sky.
“That bastard is leaving without even saying goodbye.”
“He's never been the type to do that.”
Committee members and outsiders alike watched Jaehwan's back as he walked into the mouth of the sky.
Perhaps they thought it might be the last time they saw him. Some wiped at their eyes or sniffed as their noses stung.
Yoonhwan watched Jaehwan's retreating back too. It was the back he had always watched as he ran after him.
It grew smaller and smaller, until it finally became a single dot.
Standing before the black mouth, Jaehwan seemed to look back for a moment. As if reflecting on his long journey, or measuring the height of the distant tree he had climbed.
It was as though he were looking at his Companions, Yoonhwan, Cheongheo, Karlton, Runald, and Sirwen, and the 《Tree of Illusion》.
The mouth in the split sky gradually closed. Jaehwan's figure disappeared.
The eyelid in the sky rose again, and the world's darkness began to retreat.
A little later, the sky returned to normal. It was a calm sky, as though nothing had happened from the beginning.
Jaehwan was gone.
After moving his lips for a long time, Karlton muttered, “Do you think we did the right thing?”
No one answered.
Karlton had not been waiting for an answer, so he continued.
“To be honest, I thought the Fortress Lord would stop here. After he remained here for a full year, I wondered if he had finally given up.”
“I thought so too, at least a little.”
Cheongheo was the one who answered.
Karlton looked at him and asked, “What do you think will happen if the Fortress Lord defeats 《Big Brother》 and destroys the 《System》? Do you really think anything will change?”
“Everything may change, or nothing may change.”
Runald added, “The world may truly be destroyed.”
People let out quiet laughs.
Sirwen joined in.
“A joke we used to make may actually become reality. We really have become 「Harbingers of Destruction」. I should tell the craftsmen to stop making Towers already.”
“If destruction truly comes, I suppose that is what will happen. Then I should say it in advance too. Thank you, everyone, for everything.”
“Good. Should we go have a toast to destruction together?”
“That sounds nice. Are you paying today?”
“Let me come too!”
“Hmph. What is a little kid doing here?”
“I may look like a kid, but I am an adult!”
Soft laughter spread through the air.
People began walking.
Their overlapping shadows soon looked like a single mass.
Young and old alike, they all seemed to be supporting one another.
Watching them, Cheongheo thought:
Brat, I do not truly know whether 《Big Brother》 exists or not. But...
I hope you see this sight in your final moment.
“Old man! Hurry up!”
At the voice calling to him from afar, Cheongheo waved back.
He turned to Yu Seolha, who was still sitting on the ground.
“You should stop crying and get up too.”
Cheongheo helped Yu Seolha to her feet as she swallowed back her tears, then placed a hand on her shoulder.
The clear sky looked down on them.
Cheongheo smiled bitterly.
“It is too fine a day for destruction.”
Footnotes:
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